Key factors that influence engineering students academic success: a longitudinal study

Abstract

The aim of this longitudinal research was to identify the key predictors of academic success for 66 on-campus students enrolled in first-year engineering programs at USQ in 2004. In this paper, the relationships between cognitive abilities, personality, and previous educational experience, and academic success are examined. Other variables measured in the test battery are not analysed here. The initial findings as reported in Burton and Dowling (2005) and Dowling and Burton (2005) indicated that the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) rank was the most significant factor in predicting academic success for engineering students in their first year of study. Interestingly, the Extroversion personality trait also proved to be important. This paper will report on the results of the longitudinal study which concluded when the students had completed four years of study in 2007. It will also briefly outline other longitudinal research currently underway with a cohort of distance students.